“Kateryna hot”, “Suzanna tender”, “Olivia Hot”: from Nîmes, the legionnaires managed an army of prostitutes

Des dizaines de jeunes femmes dont les activités étaient gérées via internet depuis le Gard. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Five Russians, former soldiers in the Foreign Legion regiments of Nîmes or Castelnaudary, are on trial for a week in Marseille, for having set up a very well-established organization which allowed dozens of young Ukrainian women to come and prostitute themselves in France, between 2019 and 2021.

From "pimping organizations operating like real commercial companies", to reach &amp ;quot;maximum efficiency and economic profitability, "a very high level of structuring and pyramidal organization": five former Russian soldiers from the 2nd REI of Nîmes and the 4th RE of Castelnaudary, two regiments of the Foreign Legion, are on trial from this Monday March 11 and for a week in Marseille, for having helped dozens of young women, mainly Ukrainian women, to come and prostitute themselves in France, between 2019 and 2021.

Quite military precision

"These are perfectly integrated and formidably intelligent people, who managed their activity with completely military precision" estimates a person close to the investigation, which was carried out by the Central Office for the Fight against Human Trafficking (Ocreth), mainly in Nîmes where the main suspects lived and worked. Some were still in uniform when they were arrested by the Raid police, revealed by Midi Libre in October 2021.

Several tens of thousands of euros had been seized, notably in the safes rented by the suspects in their bank, but also in the apartments where they lived, near the Maison Carrée in Nîmes. Investigators traced the trail of multiple transfers made to Russia and Ukraine, and estimated the turnover in seven months at 1.2 million euros. activity of one of these teams of pimps, who worked at least six girls every day.

Telephone lines located at the regiment barracks

"Kateryna hot", "Suzanna tender", "Olivia Hot" : in total, there are dozens and dozens of young women who seem to have been managed by the suspects, thanks to advertisements placed on the site sexmodels.com, associated with telephone lines: 29 different advertisements were thus linked to a single IP address, located at 57 rue Vincent Faïta in Nîmes, i.e. at the address of the 2nd foreign infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion. Remotely, the suspects managed the advertisements, the rental of apartments throughout France, the regular rotations of prostitutes, the recovery of money and the sending of funds to Russia.

From Denmark to Dubai

None of the prostitutes interviewed reported mistreatment, explaining on the contrary that they came freely to work in France, with all travel expenses covered, in exchange for half of their earnings. Nina, who arrived in France two weeks earlier, having previously been in Denmark and Dubai, says she handed over more than 6,000 € to a fundraiser from the organization, after three weeks of work. Natalia, described as "scantily dressed" when the investigators arrived, had collected 27,180€ in a month and a half, and paid 8154€ to one of the legionnaires.

"The fact that certain telephone lines are located at the barracks does not mean that my client was at the head of the organization" underlines Me Julien Pinelli, lawyer from Aix who defends the only legionnaire still under the flags during the dragnet. The other legionnaires had finished their engagement, but all knew each other. "It was pure and simple help and assistance, especially because the young women did not speak our language" insists' #39;Montpellier lawyer Me Florian Médico, "this is not human trafficking".< /p>

They were planning to shoot pornographic films

How did these Russian soldiers come to get involved in this flourishing activity, to the point of considering shooting pornographic films and creating their own site ?< em> "These are not people who have a delinquent imprint" explains an investigator to Midi Libre. "But in the Legion, where everyone arrives isolated, sometimes with a somewhat noisy past, linguistic or ethnic communities are recreated. And when a bad idea is born among some people, it spreads quite easily. Once their contract is over, many also become wasteful in the nightlife world, where communities of people from Eastern countries also prosper in the world of prostitution. It's all these porosities that add up."

They risk ten years in prison

The five men, who are under judicial supervision after two years of pre-trial detention, face ten years in prison. But the worst sanction is perhaps elsewhere : "We find ourselves faced with a paradox, with a risk of expulsion to Russia, while my client has committed in France to escape Putin's regime" insists Me Florian Médico. "He fought for France and is considered a traitor to the Russian State: s& ;rsquo;he must go back there, either to be sent to the front in Ukraine, or imprisoned and undoubtedly tortured". Decision expected March 15.

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